Check who you're actually paying, before you pay.

Before you send a deposit for a kitchen, staircase, extension or car, see who is really behind the website — from the official registers, in about a minute.

No sign-up. We look up Companies House, HMRC, Nominet, the trade registers and Google's advertiser register.
Example report
Aurelia Kitchens is run by a company incorporated 11 months ago. Three statements on the website do not match the official register.
Website says
Aurelia Kitchens, “handmade in our Cotswolds workshop for 20 years”
Register says
Aurelia KitchensAK Fitting Services Ltd, incorporated Oct 2025
Registered as
Joinery installation — not manufacturing
Reviews found
0 on Google, Trustpilot, Houzz, Checkatrade
Directors
One director, previously director of 2 dissolved companies
Safe deposit
£ 1,400 or use staged payments
Full report — directors, accounts, safe deposit and the 3 questions to ask£14.99

Names changed. Every figure comes from a public register.

One of three answers. Always with the evidence.

We never call anyone a scam. We show you what the website claims, what the register records, and where the two disagree — then you decide.

Green — consistent record

A UK company at least three years old, accounts filed on time, real reviews going back a year or more, and nothing on the website that the register contradicts.

You still get a safe deposit figure and a contract checklist.

Amber — verify before paying

The company exists, but something doesn't line up: a very new company, a one-person firm describing a factory, no reviews, or a registration address shared by hundreds of businesses.

Most reports land here. The full report tells you exactly what to ask.

Red — don't pay yet

We couldn't find any UK legal entity behind the brand, the site is a copy of another company's, or a director has a recent history of dissolved firms.

If you've already paid, the full report explains how to recover a deposit.

Why check before you pay?

Because the brand on the website and the company on the invoice are not always the same thing — and only one of them will owe you the money back.

Read why it matters

What a check does, what it can't do, and who it's for. Five minutes.

A deposit is the least protected money you'll ever send

Most deposits go by bank transfer. If the company folds or was never the company you thought, that is not fraud in the bank's eyes — and there is no refund.

The website was written by the person asking for the money

“Family-run for 20 years”, “our own workshop”, a logo wall of accreditations — none of it is checked by anyone. The register is.

It is the same check a solicitor would do, in a minute

Companies House, HMRC, the trade registers, domain records: all public, all free, all tedious. We read them so you don't have to.

The moment to check is before, not after

Once the transfer has gone, the questions get harder and the answers cost more. Before you pay, three questions and a company number settle most of it.

How it works

One address in, one verdict out. Every step reads from a public register — nothing is guessed.

110 seconds

Paste the website

Just the address. No account, no email, no card.

aureliakitchens.co.ukCheck
2About a minute

We pull the official record

We find the legal entity behind the brand and pull its filings, directors, domain history and adverts from the registers — then compare every claim on the website against them.

Companies HouseHMRCNominetGoogle AdsInternet ArchiveReviews
3Instant

You get a verdict with the evidence

Green, amber or red, with each fact next to its source. The full report adds a safe deposit figure and the three questions a genuine firm answers in a sentence.

Amber · Verify before paying
Safe deposit£ 4,200
Free. No sign-up. The full report is £14.99 if you want it.

What we check

Nothing here is an opinion. Each line is a fact from a public source, or a comparison between two of them.

Who they are
Free

The legal entity

The company that will be on your contract and invoice, its owners, and any changes of name or address in the last 90 days.

Red flag: No UK company found behind the brand.

Free

What it's registered to do

The activity filed at Companies House, set against what the site claims to do.

Red flag: “Our own factory” from a firm registered for installation only.

Full report

Directors' history

Other companies the directors have run, how many were dissolved or liquidated in the last five years, and whether anyone is on the disqualified directors register.

Red flag: A director with three dissolved firms since 2022.

How established they are
Free

Company and domain age

Incorporation date, domain registration and the first capture in the Internet Archive.

Red flag: “Twenty years of craftsmanship” from a company incorporated last spring.

Full report

Size and accounts

Employees, net assets and any registered charges from the latest filing — this sets the ceiling for a sensible deposit.

Red flag: Accounts overdue, or a £2,000-asset company asking for £15,000 up front.

Free

Address and contact

Real office or a mailbox shared with hundreds of companies; landline or mobile only; own-domain email or a free mailbox with no mail security set up.

Red flag: Mobile number only and a Gmail address.

Licences and reputation
Free

Licences and schemes

Gas Safe, NICEIC, FENSA, TrustMark and the FCA register — checked against what the website claims, and against what the trade legally requires.

Red flag: A Gas Safe logo on the site, no entry on the Gas Safe register.

Free

Who pays for their adverts

Google's and Meta's advertiser registers show the verified name behind every ad. Often it is not the brand you clicked on.

Red flag: Ads paid for by a company in a different country.

Free

Reviews

Google, Trustpilot, Checkatrade and Houzz: how many, how old, and whether they arrived in a natural rhythm or forty in one week.

Red flag: Zero reviews anywhere for a “well-established” firm.

The comparisons
Full report

Copied content

Text lifted from other companies' sites, and gallery photos that appear elsewhere on the web or are renders rather than photographs.

Red flag: The “About us” page matches a firm 200 miles away, word for word.

The line most reports hinge on

Website vs register

Every statement on the website we could test — years trading, “family-run since”, own workshop, staff numbers, accreditations, guarantees — side by side with what the official record says.

Website says“Handmade in our Cotswolds workshop for 20 years”
Register saysIncorporated 11 months ago · registered for installation only

Free report shows the first discrepancy. The full report shows them all.

SourcesCompanies HouseHMRCNominetGas Safe RegisterNICEICFENSAFCA RegisterGoogle Ads Transparency CenterMeta Ad LibraryGoogle BusinessTrustpilotCheckatradeInternet ArchiveAll official or public registers. We never rely on what the website says about itself.

Free to check. £14.99 to know what to do.

The free report gives you the verdict and the legal entity. The full report unlocks the details that decide whether — and how much — to pay.

One report

For the one quote you're about to accept.

£14.99
one company
  • Every discrepancy between the website and the register
  • Directors' history, owners and latest accounts
  • A safe deposit figure for this company
  • The three questions to ask before you pay
  • PDF and email copy, kept for 12 months
Unlock one reportRun a free check first — pay only if you want the detail.
Most popular · save £16

Three reports

For comparing quotes from two or three firms.

£29
under £10 a report
  • Everything in a single report, for three companies
  • Use them on any firms, whenever you like
  • Side-by-side comparison: verdict, age, accounts, safe deposit
  • Valid for 12 months
Get three reportsRun a free check first — pay only if you want the detail.

Project pass

For a renovation with several trades and stage payments.

£49
unlimited for 90 days
  • Unlimited full reports for 90 days
  • Weekly re-checks with email alerts when anything on the register changes
  • Everything in a single report, every time
  • Share any report with a partner or parent
Start a project passRun a free check first — pay only if you want the detail.

A report costs a fraction of the deposit it protects. If our sources are down and we can't complete a check, you are not charged.

Two things a single check can't do.

Most people are choosing between quotes, or paying one firm in stages over months. Both need more than one snapshot.

Three reports · £29

Compare your quotes

Run all three firms and see them side by side: verdict, years on the register, accounts, reviews and the safe deposit for each. The cheapest quote is often the newest company.

Firm AFirm BFirm C
VerdictGreenAmberRed
On register9 yrs11 mo
Safe deposit£4,200£900£0
Project pass · £49

Watch a firm for 90 days

Companies change between the deposit and the final payment. We re-check every firm on your project weekly and email you the moment something on the register moves.

Registered address changed — now a serviced office in Mayfair
Director resigned; new director has two dissolved companies
Compulsory strike-off notice published in the Gazette

Every alert links to the filing it came from.

See the plans

Who it's for

Anyone about to send money to a company they found online.

Examples from real reports. Names changed; every figure from a public register.

Homeowners

Kitchens, staircases, extensions, windows, driveways — anything with a deposit and a lead time.

Example check · Amber

Kitchen fitter asking £6,800 up front

Company 11 months old, net assets £2,100, registered for installation only. Safe deposit: £900.

Buying a car

Dealers and brokers whose forecourt is a website. The register shows who actually holds the stock.

Example check · Red

Online dealer, £2,000 “reservation fee”

No UK company behind the brand. Site text matches a dealership in Leeds word for word. Domain registered 6 weeks ago.

Checking for someone else

A parent, a partner, a friend. Paste the link they were sent; the free report shares with one link and the verdict is in the first line.

Example check · Amber

“Dad had the bank transfer half-typed.”

The company on the invoice was four months old and registered to a mailbox in Mayfair. He asked the three questions; they never replied.

For genuine businesses

Let them check you. Then put it on your website.

Your customers are nervous about deposits, and a copied website can't show a company number, years on the register or filed accounts. Yours can. The badge is free, live and links to your report.

  • Free badge for your website — Shows your legal name, company number, years on the register and the date of the last check. Updates itself.
  • A link for your quotes — “Check us before you pay” in the footer of every estimate. The firm that invites the check wins against the one that doesn't.
  • Corrections within 48 hours — If anything in your report is wrong, tell us and we fix it. Facts and dates can be corrected; verdicts can't be bought.
Get your badge

How it looks on your site

Record checked on SafeToPay
Aurelia Kitchens · Company no. 12345678 · 9 yrs on the register · 4 Sep 2026
Record checked on SafeToPay
Hartwell Stairs Ltd · Company no. 08811234 · 14 yrs on the register · 4 Sep 2026

One line of HTML. The badge reads from the live report, so it always shows the current record — never a screenshot.